The Senior Center located at 117-119 Market Square in downtown Portsmouth is getting a touch-up by two diligent church camp groups that have traveled from the Columbus area and Baltimore, Ohio to lend a helping hand.
Jeff Seeds, of Summit Station United Methodist Church (SSUMC), said they are helping to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
“We are just east of Columbus, and also we are here with Christ’s United Methodist Church there is a program down here in southern Ohio that is run by Jackson Area Ministries, and it is an organization that has been in operation since 1969,” Seeds said. “Rev. Bob Davis is the one who orchestrated it, and had a vision of bringing folks down to southern Ohio to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the community.”
Youth groups from the churches are also working in New Boston and Sciotoville.
“For have worked today here at the senior center. There is a lot of painting that needs to be done at this facility, and as the folks come in we talk with them,” Seeds said. “There are two other groups that are down here with us, and they are building a wheelchair ramp out near Sciotoville, and yard work and we are also painting and staining a ramp in New Boston as well.”
Seeds also said the volunteer service their groups provide are for people in need.
“This is work is usually done for folks who are not able to do a lot of this work, we come down to be an assistant,” Seeds said. “What is awesome is that we partner with churches here, and we will eat and sleep in the churches and serve that community. Right now Christ’s Church in Sciotoville is hosting us, and have opened their doors for us while we are down here for the whole week.
J.R. Coakley, of CUMC of Baltimore, Ohio, said serving others helps keep youth on the right path.
“I work with the youth of our church, and we have about 15 of them,” Coakley said. “We’ve joined with Summit Station to help with the Jackson ministry to help rebuild the area here. We are here to help the senior citizens out, to help them and we have other groups out building and redoing the ramps, for those who are not able to do things like that on their own. I was a chaplain assistant in the US Army, and God has given us the power to show these young kids how society can change, and how having God in their lives will make their lives a lot simpler and better. So this can help direct youth in the right way.”
Renee Ellis, director of the Senior Center, said the work of the SUMC, and CUMC, is greatly appreciated.
“We are just blessed beyond measure to have these kids here, and it is helping us so much,”Ellis said. “They actually did the dining area last year. They came and did it for their work camp project last year. It is not just the labor that they are providing, they are also providing the materials.”
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